Author: Blockto Team

Ripple Pushes for Fair Regulatory Standards Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has called for regulatory parity between crypto firms and traditional financial institutions, arguing that companies following the same rules should enjoy the same benefits. Speaking at DC Fintech Week, Garlinghouse urged regulators to apply a level playing field as Ripple awaits a decision on its national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). “We should be held to the same regulatory standards as a bank,” Garlinghouse said. “Yes, the crypto industry should follow AML, KYC, and OFAC compliance — absolutely. But we should also have…

Bitcoin Struggles to Maintain Momentum Bitcoin’s price momentum appears to be stalling, with analysts warning that without a fresh market catalyst, the leading cryptocurrency could face a deeper correction in the coming weeks. According to a new report from Glassnode, Bitcoin’s lack of new drivers may keep it locked in a volatile trading range unless renewed enthusiasm returns to the market. “Without a renewed catalyst to lift prices back above $117.1K, the market risks deeper contraction toward the lower boundary of this range,” the report stated. At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading near $110,840, roughly 5% below…

Kraken Strengthens U.S. Presence with Strategic Acquisition In a move to expand its footprint in the U.S. derivatives market, leading cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has acquired Small Exchange, a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market (DCM), for $100 million. The acquisition, announced Thursday, marks a major milestone in Kraken’s effort to launch a fully U.S.-based derivatives trading platform. “This step connects spot, futures, and margin products inside a single regulated liquidity system,” said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken. “Under CFTC oversight, Kraken can now integrate clearing, risk, and matching into one environment that meets the same standards as the largest exchanges in the…

Profit-Taking Intensifies Despite Typically Bullish Season Bitcoin (BTC) is facing renewed selling pressure, even as the market enters what is usually a seasonally bullish phase. The world’s largest cryptocurrency continues to hover around $110,000, struggling to regain momentum amid heavy distribution from long-term holders (LTHs) and large whale investors. According to on-chain data from Glassnode, long-term holders — defined as investors who have held Bitcoin for 155 days or more — have sold over 300,000 BTC since June, with 100,000 BTC offloaded in just the past few days. Despite collectively holding around 14.5 million BTC, this group has been steadily…

Merger Faces Legal Roadblock A proposed merger between Strive, a crypto-focused asset management firm, and Semler Scientific, a healthcare technology company turned Bitcoin treasury holder, is facing a shareholder revolt. The lawsuit, filed by investor Terry Tran in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, accuses Semler Scientific and its board of misleading shareholders about the financial fairness of the deal. According to the complaint, Semler’s registration statement was “materially incomplete and misleading”, particularly regarding how the merger would affect the combined company’s financial outlook. The plaintiff argues that key details on valuation and fairness opinions were…

SEC Embraces Innovation in Digital Assets The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is signaling a major policy shift toward fostering cryptocurrency and tokenization growth under Chair Paul Atkins. Speaking at DC Fintech Week, Atkins emphasized that crypto and tokenization are now “job one” for the SEC, underscoring a renewed commitment to creating a regulatory environment that encourages innovation rather than stifling it. Atkins noted that the SEC’s goal is to rebuild trust and attract innovation back to U.S. markets. “We want to make sure that we build a strong framework to actually attract people back into the United States…

Institutional Confidence Grows Despite Market Decline Ethereum (ETH) has dropped nearly 20% from its August peak, but institutional buyers appear undeterred. Onchain data indicates that BitMine, the world’s largest Ether-holding treasury, purchased 104,336 ETH—valued at around $417 million—on Thursday as the price of ETH slipped below the $4,000 mark. According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, three wallets linked to BitMine received large transfers of Ether from major exchanges Kraken and BitGo. The company has yet to officially confirm the purchases, but the pattern closely matches BitMine’s previous acquisition activity. A Strategic Move Amid Market Weakness This latest purchase follows BitMine’s…

Australia’s Minister for Cybersecurity and Home Affairs, Tony Burke, has proposed draft legislation that would grant the country’s financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, the authority to restrict or ban crypto ATMs considered “high-risk products.” Speaking at the National Press Club on Thursday, Burke emphasized that the goal isn’t to impose an outright ban on cryptocurrency ATMs, but rather to equip AUSTRAC with the regulatory flexibility to take action if these machines are found to pose significant risks. Crypto ATMs Under Scrutiny Australia has rapidly become one of the largest markets for crypto ATMs, now ranking third globally with 2,008 active machines,…

Technical indicators show NEAR approaching a critical accumulation zone near $2.30 after sharp volatility The NEAR Protocol (NEAR) price fell over 5% in the past 24 hours, extending a correction phase that has pushed the token toward a key technical support level around $2.30, according to data from TradingView. The move follows heightened volatility across the crypto market after a $20 billion liquidation event last week. On the daily chart, NEAR continues to trade within a narrow consolidation band after failing to sustain above the $2.60 resistance zone, highlighted by repeated rejections from that level over the past week. The…

Ripple has teamed up with leading blockchain security platform Immunefi to launch a $200,000 “Attackathon” — a large-scale bug bounty competition designed to test the security of the new XRPL Lending Protocol, which aims to bring institutional-grade, uncollateralized lending to the XRP Ledger (XRPL). $200,000 Bug Bounty to Strengthen XRPL Security The Attackathon will run from October 27 to November 29, 2025, inviting white-hat hackers and security researchers to identify vulnerabilities that could endanger fund safety or protocol solvency. The initiative is part of Ripple’s effort to ensure the lending protocol’s robustness before it goes live. To prepare participants, Ripple…